Tuesday, October 17, 2017

40 Days for Life, 2017, Ottawa Ontario - Midpoint Rally

Thank you Archbishop Prendergast for your support

Wanda’s talk

Abby Johnson, former abortion worker, worked as a clinic director of a PlannedParent office in Texas for 8 years until she resigned in 2009. She tells her story ofthe day she was asked to assist with an abortion and, while watching it progress onthe ultrasound machine, she reacted in horror as a baby of 13 weeks gestationfought and struggled for his life and then died.People don’t think about abortion, because they don’t see it. – Abby saw it and itchanged her life.Nobody grows up wanting to work in the abortion industry.Abortion exploits women. Motherhood empowers women. Women need to beempowered, not exploited.We’re fighting for life, because we believe in love. The love that God has for eachperson He creates. Every life is worth fighting for. All life, born and unborn,should be valued, from conception to natural death. Every single life should beshown dignity.There’s something empowering in rebelling against our culture by showing less ofour skin and more of our brains. A belief in their own self-worth is somethingyoung girls in our society lack. The media sends out the message that we musthave perfect bodies and be sexually desirable and active, in order to feelworthwhile and be taken seriously.When you hear or read stories about women who have had abortions, you cansense the sadness in their stories. Often the girl feels she has no other choice and attimes, she is actually taken to the abortuary and not given a choice.To prepare for tonight I have been reading magazine articles, submitted by womenwho had abortions. There is a heaviness in their stories.Many of them said abortion was the first thought that came to mind when theyfound out they had an unexpected pregnancy. Because it meant their lives, as theyknew it, would be changed forever. Most of them were filled with apprehension.But they went ahead with their abortions anyways, and then they spoke about therepercussions: the depression, the sleepless nights, the drinking... They feltashamed about their inability to ‘just deal with it’ as they think other women do.

Society tells young women that abortion will solve their problem. It says nothingabout the problems abortion creates.In every abortion a child dies. The child’s death is intended.The World Health Organization estimates that one in five pregnancies worldwideend in abortion, with over 42 million abortions in the world each year. (estimatefor 2003). There is no question that our entire society has been negatively affected.Abortion throughout the world, has been legalized because of two basic lies. Thefirst lie is that abortion only destroys a “bunch of cells,” not a human life. Thesecond lie is, abortion is safe, and it helps women control and improve their lives.During the last few decades, the pro-life movement has concentrated its efforts ondispelling this first lie. Much effort has been spent on advertising campaigns,books, brochures, and films such as the powerful “Silent Scream,” to educate thepublic about the humanity of the unborn child.These educational efforts have achieved great success. In a LifeCanada Poll donein 2011, a strong majority, 72% of Canadians want to see some protection forhuman life in the womb. People know that there is a baby in this picture.Pregnancy is not a disease.Clearly, the vast majority of the public understands that abortion involves thetaking of a human life. Even many abortion advocates admit this. So, in large part,they have now abandoned their first lie in favour of a primary claim: “The needsand rights of a woman are more important than those of a fetus.”So, we have to develop a new strategy.There is an important lesson to learn from this. While efforts to educate the publicabout the unborn’s humanity may help to motivate pro-lifers, these efforts willhave no effect on those who support abortion.Some have hardened their hearts to the “fetus.” It may be human – biology forcesthem to admit that much – but they believe the unborn child is less important thanthe woman. End of argument. Nothing we can say will sway them from thisposition.

Their concern is focused totally on the woman. Therefore, the only way to reach

them is for us, too, to focus on the woman. This point is absolutely critical for pro-lifers to understand. We must change the abortion debate so that we are arguing

with our opponents on their own turf, on the issue of defending the interests

with our opponents on their own turf, on the issue of defending the interests ofwomen.To do this we must begin to concentrate our efforts on exposing the second liebehind legal abortion. That lie, which is the backbone of the abortion industry,says: “Abortion is safe.”The truth is the exact opposite. Abortion hurts women. It can cause irreparabledamage to a woman’s reproductive health. And perhaps more importantly, asresearch has shown, abortion almost always causes psychological and emotionaldamage. In many cases, this post-abortion trauma is psychologically devastating. Itcan literally cripple a woman’s ability to function in normal relationships, withfamily, friends, or even at work.Abortion is never safe. "Safe abortion" is a myth.Abortion is not safe -- nor it is designed to be. It’s designed to kill our ownchildren and is the most unnatural act in all of humanity. In fact, an abortion isconsidered unsuccessful unless a baby dies. And his or her death is the mostviolent you can imagine.Vague phrases and politically correct words like choice, privacy and reproductivehealth are used to cover the real horror of what abortion does. Using politicallycorrect words doesn’t change the fact that abortion kills a growing human being.This little human located in its mother’s womb, is at a stage of development, justlike a toddler is at a stage of development, a teenager is at a stage of development.I’m at a stage of development, as a senior. Just because we don’t see it, doesn’tmean it isn’t there. If I was in a nursing home, you wouldn’t see me, but I’d still bethere.UNDERSTANDING THE ABORTION MINDSETPsychologists describe three levels of moral development. At the lowest level isconcern only for oneself. The “me, myself and I” thinking.

The second level is concern only for those close to you: family, friends, co-workers, or even anyone whom you are able to tangibly see.

The third level is concern for all others, even in the abstract, even if they areunknown, unseen – or unborn.

We, as pro-lifers, are operating at this third level. Arguments on behalf of the

We, as pro-lifers, are operating at this third level. Arguments on behalf of theunborn are very effective with people at the third level of moral development.To appeal to the concerns of those at the first and second levels of moraldevelopment, however, we must educate them about the risks abortion poses toteenagers and adult women. We must appeal to their concern for their daughters,wives, sisters, and girlfriends.In the case of the woman considering abortion, we must appeal to her concern forherself. And let her know that there are options.When faced with the turmoil of a problem pregnancy, otherwise compassionatepeople often revert to the second or first level of moral decision making.For example, the father of a pregnant fourteen year old girl is likely to focus hisconcern on his daughter more than on his unborn granddaughter, whom to him isonly an abstraction. All he can see is this pregnancy “destroying” his dreams forhis daughter’s future, stealing from her all the opportunities of life still open to her.Even if his daughter wants to keep the child, he may well insist on the abortion“for her own good” because he thinks her desire to keep the child is just a juvenilefantasy.To reach people who think this way, it is not enough to give them facts about fetaldevelopment. It is more important to give them facts about the destructive effectsof abortion on teenage girls.They must be educated about the risks of permanent reproductive damage. Evenmore importantly, they need to be educated about the impact of abortion trauma ona young girl’s psychological development.Families of pregnant teens need to be told that over 90 percent of women havingabortions suffer damage to their self-esteem. Nearly 50 percent of post-abortionwomen begin or increase drug and alcohol abuse. In the years to follow, 60 percentexperience suicidal tendencies, with up to 28 percent actually attempting suicide.Other problems include promiscuity, depression, flashbacks, concentrationproblems, and dramatic personality changes.Clearly, once a young woman is pregnant, it is no longer a choice between havinga baby or not having a baby. It is a choice between having a baby or having anabortion; it is a choice between having a baby or having a traumatic experience

Over half of women, who suffer post-abortion trauma, report that they were“forced by others” into unwanted abortions. It’s absolutely critical to educate these“others” about abortion’s risks. By encouraging abortion, these “significant others”are actually hurting the loved ones whom they are trying to help. Unless we caneducate the parents, boyfriends, counsellors, and medical community, women willcontinue to be pressured into dangerous abortions “for their own good.”We must never forget that our long-term goal is not to make abortion simplyillegal, but also unthinkable. To achieve this goal, we must change the publicperception about “safe” abortions. We must convince the public that even ifabortion is legalized, it is never safe.Future generations will recognize abortion for what it is, “medical” butchery ofboth the mother and the child.Our dream is, that years from now, no compassionate person would ever encouragea young girl to seek out an abortion because everyone will know of its physical,psychological, and spiritual dangers. Only then will the lessons of our presentgeneration truly have been learned.We need to make people aware that whenever one hurts a child, one hurts itsmother as well. And conversely, whenever one helps a mother, one helps her child.Therefore, the solution to problem pregnancies is not abortion; it is compassion.Research and education is needed to convince the public about the dangers ofabortion. This strategy will have many effects.• Knowledge of abortion’s risks will decrease abortions. Family members,friends, and boyfriends will become less likely to pressure a young woman into anunwanted abortion “for her own good.”• As the dangers of abortion become better publicized, more post-abortionwomen will begin to recognize the underlying cause of their psychologicalproblems, encouraging women to finally reach out for help and begin the processof psychological and spiritual recovery. This will not only benefit them, but it willbenefit the pro-life movement, as more and more post-abortion women begin tojoin us in speaking out about the negative effects of abortion.•Once average citizens realize that women are being hurt by abortion, theywill finally begin to question why we are allowing abortions at all. Until now,much of the public has been convinced by pro-abortionists that “abortion helpswomen.” But once this myth is called into question, once the public begins to

wonder if abortion is actually hurting women, then the tragedy of killing unbornbabies for nothing, becomes more apparent. If abortion doesn’t help women, itdoesn’t make sense.Pain after abortion is real.Last May, men and women stood on Parliament Hill with the Silent No MoreAwareness Campaign and spoke about their personal abortion experiences.Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats are a safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem heartsbroken by abortion. Here a supportive environment is offered, where women andmen can work through painful emotions and begin the process of healing. Thedeepest feelings about abortion can be discussed.The next Rachel's Vineyard Retreat is November 10-12 at the Galilee RetreatCenter in Arnprior. This is a wonderful opportunity of healing for those who haveexperienced an abortion. For details about the weekend seewebsite www.rachelsvineyardottawa.caAs we witness God’s healing love and mercy, here on Bank Street, and in ourcommunities, together, we can work to promote the Culture of Life.